Chapter 393: Fighting One Against Two

Chapter 393: Fight Two with One

"Chu Ke, I’ve already told you this before—if you want the Wu Quan folks to obey you, you’ve got to knock them into submission first. All those flowery words and smooth talk? They’re nothing compared to a solid punch!"

Chu Ke’s face darkened, and though he didn’t argue, he merely huffed under his breath, leaning back.

As his right hand rose, the members of Hong He around Li Jun all raised their guns and fired furiously. The deafening crack of gunfire echoed endlessly within this underground gambling den.

The acrid sting of smoke seeped into Shu Si’s nostrils, igniting the fever in his blood.

"Fei Hu!"

Shu Si let out a low growl. A crimson hue surged across his brows and face, spreading visibly across his body at an alarming speed.

Star pouch, armor, sleeves, gloves, shield, and chest plate.

With each successive clang, the red spread across Shu Si’s entire frame, revealing a majestic, blood-red armor unlike any other. Beneath its demonic crimson plating, his eyes blazed like coals, brimming with battle-lust.

Wu Wulor, Shu Si!

Sixth-grade ink armor, Fei Tiger!

"Old Li, what in the world are your Wu Quan folks up to? How did they stoop so low, running off to mingle with the Hong He?"

In Li Jun’s brow, the Marquis Wang’s sardonic laughter echoed.

"How is it just our Wu Quan? I’m not like them."

Li Jun waved his wrist, slicing his blade in a wide arc of chaos, sweeping away the incoming hail of bullets. Yet even as he moved, he didn’t forget to sneer: "Though I must say, Old Marquis, their armor seems more advanced than yours."

"Nonsense. Having a portable function makes it advanced? When I was still young, I hadn’t the faintest idea where I was half the time, let alone playing these games."

The Marquis scoffed: "I’m past that age now. Those are just trifles. What truly matters is what can withstand and strike—that’s the real deal!"

Amid the chaos of gunfire like a torrential downpour, their conversation remained crystal clear, each word reaching Shu Si’s ears.

"Arrogant!"

Shu Si’s fury surged within him. He drew a tachi—a narrow blade with a wide rear—from his waist.

Boom!

Boulders scattered as his body carved a crimson streak through the air, slamming headlong into the area bathed in gunfire. His blade sliced down toward Li Jun’s skull.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The thunderous beat of drums erupted, overpowering the shattering gunfire and the slicing wind of the tachi.

Facing the savage blade aimed at his head, Li Jun showed no intention of dodging. He twisted his torso, kicked forward with his right leg, his armored leg striking with brutal precision at the side of Shu Si’s blade.

Tink!

The massive tachi was wrenched away by Li Jun’s kick. Shu Si felt a torrent of force surge through his wrist, his grip on the blade nearly slipping. His red armored plates rippled like waves, quickly dissipating the terrifying force.

"His strength… it’s incredible!"

Still reeling, Shu Si’s vision blurred.

Li Jun spun, his right hand extending like an ape’s arm, his embroidered dao—still blazing with flames—slashing toward Shu Si’s throat.

Clang!

A resonant metallic ring filled the air.

The red figure flew backward, crashing into the wooden gambling table, splintering it into a storm of wood chips and carving a furrow through the mud.

The drums boomed like a tiger’s roar and a dragon’s call.

The Marquis Wang roared triumphantly: "This tune from the Zhi City Drum Pavilion isn’t bad, is it? That’s one of my favorite tracks for brutal cuisine—left forgotten in the music library for ages, finally put to use!"

"Powerful!"

Li Jun grinned, bowing slightly as the ground beneath him cracked. He was ready to press his advantage, to finish Shu Si in one breath.

But at that moment, a wave of Hong He soldiers surged forward, their faces hollow and lifeless, their guns blazing skyward, fearless in the face of death.

Li Jun’s eyes narrowed, his gaze slicing through the crowd, locking onto Chu Ke’s cold, stern face.

Sixth-grade, Hornbill Head!

"The tactics of the Zhengyang sect are as vile as ever."

Li Jun’s right hand held his blade still, while his left arm shot out, his gun barrel sweeping a fiery chain of bullets.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Scorching bullets punched through flesh and bone, blooming into crimson clouds that the wind whipped into red ribbons, coiling around the darkness of his armor.

Fierce as a ghost, cruel as a demon!

"For the weak, be strong!"

A hypnotic shout surged into Shu Si’s mind. Veins bulged beneath his armored plates as he gripped his tachi, meeting the blade head-on.

Clang! Clang!

Beneath the bright full moon, a sudden explosion of dazzling sparks erupted.

The black flying sword let out a piercing wail, twisting and flailing through the air, fleeing in disarray toward the front.

After the dim flames faded, two flying swords clung to each other, chasing one another through the endless snowfall.

The ground, piled three chi deep with snow, bore Chen Qishan sprinting frantically.

His Taoist robe was soaked in blood, his chest panel torn into ragged strips by sharp blades, his sleeve flapping wildly, his palm blackened and blistered from intense flames.

A small box, no bigger than a human head, was strapped to his back, its edges slowly seeping blood.

"Chen the Taoist, if you don’t stop within a minute, the brain matter of Mingzhi Changle will be completely dead. Then no Taoist technique will extract any information from his mind. What a waste of effort, wouldn’t it? Instead, why not stop now and let us upload his consciousness into the void? We can question him properly—what do you think?"

Chen Qishan ignored the voice behind him, his sprint unrelenting.

"Chen Qishan, hand over Mingzhi Changle’s head, and you can withdraw from this contest. The Taoist elder will spare your life. But if you persist in your obstinacy, clinging to this ill-gotten opportunity, we’ll have no choice but to send you back to Longhu Shan for military execution!"

The voice boomed with arrogance, its words sharp. Chen Qishan instinctively clenched his right fist, feeling the sharp edge within. A jagged piece of a Peace Lock, no larger than his palm, pressed against his fingers, its inscription faintly visible: "Memorial."

Chen Qishan’s eyes flickered. He flicked his lips: "It’s just a Peace Lock my old man gave me when I first entered the Taoist order. If it breaks, it breaks. At least it helped me survive a fatal blow—it’s been useful."

He muttered to himself, as if soothing his own conscience. But in the next instant, his face twisted into a grotesque mask.

"But my motherf—ing heart just can’t let go of the past!"

Though he couldn’t quite dispel his rage, he couldn’t calm his killing intent.

Crunch.

Chen Qishan bit down on the last of his four-transformed gene pills, his eyes glowing red, wild and manic. He stamped his feet, twisted his body mid-stride, and spun around to face his pursuer.

Two crimson talismans flew forward, exploding into scorching fireballs, their heat waves rolling over the area.

"Brother, be careful!"

A thunderous sound rang out.

High above, the black flying sword—once teetering—suddenly flared with a massive blaze at its tail.

The sword's tip turned, clashing head-on with the two pursuers behind, its blade suddenly plunged downward, plummeting from midair.

Meanwhile, Chen Qi Sheng's figure burst forth from the flames, his right arm snatching the falling Zhuang Yuan just in time!

The true strength of the old-school Taoist sequence lies not in their vast array of carved talismans and seals, nor in summoning the high-and-mighty ancestral weapons.

But in the pills they chew and the swords they wield!

Clang!

The Taoist named Xiang, who had been warned by his senior brother about sending Chen Qi Sheng back to Longhu Mountain for resolution, heard the alert but the icy glint was already upon him, his incantation to activate the talisman barely uttered its first syllable.

Rip!

The blade tore through pale synthetic skin, severed the sturdy mechanical cervical bone, a head soaring skyward. The sword's radiance unabated, it plunged into the opponent's abdomen, churning the stored Taoist essence into pulp.

A spray of milky liquid splashed across Chen Qi Sheng's face, but he had no time to wipe it away, rolling clumsily on the ground.

Crackle!

A bolt of lightning struck his former position, blasting a three-foot-wide scorched pit.

Only now did the headless corpse crash down, its fingers still grasping the talisman in vain.

The other round-faced Taoist, seeing his junior's corpse, eyes still trembling with shock, roared angrily: "Chen Qi Sheng, Ge Zao Mountain will never let you go!"

"Who the hell lacks backing? You think you can scare me? You're not even worthy!"

Chen Qi Sheng flung off the viscous fluid from Zhuang Yuan, his brows bristling with malevolence, like a wounded lone wolf, his reddened eyes glaring fiercely at the opponent.

His neck veins bulged as he snarled: "Now it's just you and me. You want the head of Ming Zhi Chang Ye? Come on!"

The round-faced Taoist seemed cowed by Chen Qi Sheng's ferocity, involuntarily stepping back half a pace.

"Afraid? If you're afraid, you'll die today too!"

The words carried a palpable killing intent, and the round-faced Taoist's heart trembled; his Taoist robes jingled as countless thunder seals flew out, hovering beside him.

"Come on!"

Chen Qi Sheng roared upward, his figure shooting forward like an arrow.

Click! Click! Click! Click!

The souls of the Taoists from Ge Zao Mountain all perished, activating every talisman around them in one breath.

In an instant, lightning danced across the snowfield, intertwining into a dense thicket of electric pools, plowing through snow waves ten feet high, the area within half a mu a chaotic mix of black and white.

"Dead... dead? Dead!"

The round-faced Taoist, propping himself on his knees, his near-dry energy causing his vision to darken.

In a daze, he seemed to see a black shadow rushing in the distance, shrinking rapidly in his sight.

Clang!

Li Jun's left hand gripping brass knuckles, a fist smashed upward to deflect the incoming tachi, the flying blade grazing his hairline, then sinking his elbow into Shui Cun Wu Dou's chest.

At the same time, the Horse Prince flung out two thick mechanical arms, grabbing Shui Cun Wu Dou's shoulder armor and pulling him close, his crimson single eye smashing into the opponent's star crown.

"What kind of trash came out of Ming Gui Jing? Living in this armor of the barbarian invaders, don't you feel ashamed?"

"This is my own choice!"

The red armor emitted a low, hoarse roar: "It's not your place to lecture me!"

"Lecturing? You're dreaming. I'm here to kill you!"

The ferocious headbutt struck again, Shui Cun Wu Dou's body trembling as if struck by lightning, blood spurting from his mouth and nose, sending him flying.

"For the strong, accumulate upon the weak!"

A voice with an inexplicable meaning echoed in his ears, a sudden irritation rising in Li Jun's heart. He slowly turned his head, his eyes blazing with fury fixed on Chu Ke.

"You want to counter me?"

"."

Chu Ke's face was ashen, unable to understand why his 'counter' had no effect on the Jin Yi Wei before him, failing to weaken his will or disrupt his actions.

Such a situation, Chu Ke had never encountered.

In previous operations, he had even countered a Wu Qi from the Huang Shi Group, making the opponent end their own life before him.

Although the Hong Hu records clearly noted Li Jun's current rank far surpassed Wu Xiu Seven.

But when he tested it on Shui Cun Wu Dou, another Wu Xiu Five, the transverse sequence's abilities could still have some effect, not completely resisting.

A near-immune case like Li Jun had never occurred in his transverse career.

"As Wu Xiu Five, why such a vast difference?"

Regret surged in Chu Ke's heart. Had he known Li Jun would be so difficult, he wouldn't have dragged him into Hong Hu, causing his current perilous situation.

Now, the Hong Hu members around had all perished, and without a counter target, the transverse sequence was like a toothless beast, no threat left.

Besides regret, Chu Ke didn't know what else he could do.

"Get out of the way!"

A shout crashed into his ears, and Chu Ke instinctively dodged back, only to be horrified to find he couldn't evade the scorching blade light enveloping his vision.

On the brink of life and death, a red figure squeezed between Chu Ke and the flames, knees slightly bent, a horizontal blade blocking the way.

Bang!

Shui Cun Wu Dou's back slammed hard into Chu Ke's chest, a mouthful of hot blood spraying onto Shui Cun Wu Dou's neck.

"With just your two, you think you can challenge me?"

Li Jun's right hand pointed the Xiu Chun Blade diagonally at the ground, his arrogance and pride fully displayed.

Shui Cun Wu Dou wiped the blood from his mouth corner, eyes fixed ahead, muttering: "So this is the lone Wu Xiu."

Li Jun's brow twitched, "What?"

"Strike!"

Shui Cun Wu Dou roared angrily, his blood-stained face showing a frenzied expression, eyes gleaming with intensity, the blade light pouring down, daring to counter Li Jun's fury.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Weapons clashed, the explosive ringing sounds unending.

After a while, Li Jun couldn't help but frown slightly; his palm throbbed painfully, on the verge of tearing, yet the blade light before him showed no sign of weakening.

This Shui Cun Wu Dou, though a Wu Xiu Five leader of his sect, his sword techniques were mediocre, and like Li Jun, neither had infused their martial arts.

Compared to Li Jun, whose physical strength and every refining technique had reached perfection, he had no advantage, even slightly inferior when Li Jun entered the Shi Long Hu state.

Yet after such a prolonged battle, Shui Cun Wu Dou's red armor was severely damaged, his body covered in wounds, but like a tireless warrior, growing stronger with each fight, his power and speed noticeably enhanced.

Shui Cun Wu Dou's current state was as if he had taken a Taoist gene-transformation elixir, his kidney essence frantically secreting!

Li Jun's brow furrowed tightly, his Li Que steps swaying, dodging Shui Cun Wu Dou's heavy cleave, while twisting his wrist, placing the Xiu Chun Blade behind him, using a back blade stance to block the opponent's tail-chasing slash.

Clang!

Li Jun's figure staggered forward, appearing unbalanced, yet suddenly sprang out, rushing straight for Chu Ke, who stood afar, fully supporting Shui Cun Wu Dou!

The moment struck like a thunderclap, leaving silence to echo with the weight of impending doom.